by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Jobseekers are facing a tough time across the county as 600 more joined the dole queue last month.

The crisis in the labour market was underlined by another steep monthly rise in unemployment.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance stood at 35,317 on September 8, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, up 587 on the previous month. It follows a rise of 534 in August, a combined increase of just over 1,100.

Audio: Unemployed people outside the Job Centre Plus in Chatham talk to kmfm's Nisha Chopra

Medway's claimant count rose 142 to 7,120, while in the rest of Kent, an extra 445 people joined the dole queue.

Although there were modest falls in Ashford, Canterbury and Gravesham, the county’s nine other districts all suffered rises, with Thanet being the worst hit with an extra 151 claimants.

Swale (up 72) and Dover (up 71) were also badly affected, suggesting that East Kent is bearing the brunt of job losses, a situation likely to worsen when Pfizer pulls out of Sandwich next year.

Nationally, the claimant count rose by 17,500 to 1.6 million. The quarterly unemployment rate stood at 8.1%, with 2.57 million people out of work – the highest figure since 1994 and a three-month rise of 114,000.

Youth unemployment edged closer to the critical one million mark, with 991,000 16-24 year olds (one in five of that age group) out of work, an increase of 74,000.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the figures were concerning but not surprising, given the worsening global economic situation and the government's tough austerity plan.

He said it reinforced "the need for the government to boost the private sector's ability to create jobs and employ those people likely to lose their jobs in the public sector over the coming year".

"Cutting red tape and enabling people to acquire the skills they need for employment will help businesses increase their workforces," he added.